Defective gonadotropin-dependent ovarian folliculogenesis and granulosa cell gene expression in inhibin-deficient mice.

ABSTRACT: Inhibin-α knockout (Inha-/-) female mice develop sex cord-stromal ovarian cancer with complete penetrance and previous studies demonstrate that the pituitary gonadotropins (FSH and LH) are influential modifiers of granulosa cell tumor development and progression in inhibin-deficient females. Recent studies have demonstrated that Inha-/- ovarian follicles develop precociously to the early antral stage in prepubertal mice without any increase in serum FSH. These studies suggest that in the absence of inhibins, granulosa cells differentiate abnormally and thus at sexual maturity may undergo an abnormal response to gonadotropin signaling contributing to tumor development. To test this hypothesis, we stimulated immature wild-type and Inha-/- female mice with gonadotropin analogs prior to tumor

SUBMITTER: Nagaraja AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2946151 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature